I just purchased a new 2011 Prius II in Blizzard Pearl color. I commute 146 miles per day. Hoping this will save some fuel as I hate the oil companies. The buying experience was great. Purchased from Royal South Toyota-Scion in Bloomington IN. Would highly recommend this dealer. Traded in a 2009 Civic. The Prius is 10 times the car this one was. Still learning the driving techniques but there is some great information here on this Forum.
Welcome aboard James. That is quite a commute! Tell us what you see different between the two cars...
Aloha and Welcome, Get to know your new Prius, plod through your manual when you can. Check your tire pressures and most important Enjoy? Aloha, ED
To me, the biggest difference is the quietness of the Prius. The Honda had a lot of road noise at highway speed. When using my cellphone, ofen the road noise in the Honda was so loud I could barely hear the other party. The other major difference is the features that the Prius offers. The climate control system, the advanced keyless entry system, and of course the push button starting system. Also the Prius has much more room for passengers and cargo than the Civic. My best MPG for the Civic was 40mpg on the highway but it typically did 36-38 mpg. It was not a Civic Hybrid. Im hoping to see the 60mpg mark with the Prius by using the various driving techinques. On my trip home from the dealer (60 miles over a LOT of hills and valleys) resulted in 51 mpg actually filling it up from the pump. Since most of my commute is flat I think I can get the 60mpg figure or very close. The Honda was a good car but in the GM world which I used to be familiar wth, I feel I have moved up from a Chevrolet to a Cadillac that gets MUCH better fuel mileage. And thanks to those who responded for the warm welcome!!!!
^ Great, thanks. It is funny how some on here complain about the road noise in the Prius... guess it is all relative.
Based on your communite, all I can say is Congrats on a new Prius and welcome to the forum. Enjoy the high MPGs and technology. With the flat Indiana roadways, I think you can easily break 60mpg!
Care to share how much you paid for it? My parents are in Fort Wayne and looking for a great deal. Thanks!
We are very simular. I traded my 2007 Civic in 3 weeks ago for my 2011 Prius 4. I drive 150 mies a day. I have been AVG 48MPG so far. The ride is nice and quite. You will love it. Rick
Congratulations on your new Prius. I too traded in my Civic for the Prius IV and I agree with everything you said with the comparison between the two cars. My commute is 52 miles rt. 50% highway and 50% backroads. I get between 52 and 55 mpg. It really does feel like going from a chevy to a caddy with a bonus of great mpg
Don't get me wrong, the Honda was a good car to me for the 41K miles I had it, but when gas hit 3.85 (today I see its 3.99) here in Indiana I decided it was time to trade. Its just that the Prius is much better than the Honda in several respects. This is my first Toyota I have owned. I have to make the long commute because there are no good jobs in my field (Technical Writer) in my home town. I commute every day to Indianapolis. I70 knows me well........pretty bad when you know where all the potholes are in a 70 mile stretch of road LOL. Hopefully the mileage will get a little better as the cars break in. I have to tell you I really like mine. Im sure you like the 4!!
The Civic and Corolla was my number two choice, but MPGs was such an overwhelming requirement, that I chose Prius. I am so thankful!
Welcome! Enjoy the miles per gallon, safety, looks, room, power, possibility of converting to plug-in, technology, etc.
I was only getting 35-36 MPG on my Civic. Which was good. But when you look at all the miles we drive a week (750-775) the savings add up. Where do you live. I live in Columbus and drive to Wilmington (75 miles) each way everyday. . This is my first Toyota also. TTUL Rick
I live in Terre Haute and commute to Indianapolis Monday-Friday. Its about 75 miles one way, same as yours. I got almost identical MPG on my Civic as you did, 36 most times and 38 on a good day. Mine was a 2009 LX Coupe with CVT auto transmission. Which was rated EPA higher on the highway than the 5 speed manual. Just filled my first tank. Display said 51.4 MPG for the trip, calculated by filling up it was 48.9. Im still learning how to drive it. So far on this tank the display reads 53.5......this with 225 miles so far....90 pecent highway miles. Checked the speedo and trip meter today with my GPS, speedo reads about 1 mile high, trip is .2 mile over in 75 miles....pretty close. But yeah you are right.....the savings add up. I figure that the Prius will save me at least $1000 per year on gas...more as the price goes up.
The good problem with Prius MPGs is that it's fun to drive MORE because we get such great MPG. In the end, we never save anything!
Yeah the dispaly MPG is always about 2-3MPG higher than the actual calculated. I agree with you. We will save 1000-1200 a year depending on the price. To disagree with another post. It is a savings over our previous car fuel cost. We have to save money were we can. I have been driving in ECON mode all the time until yesterday when I read a post that driving under "Normal" under highway miles using cruse control. Well I tried it on two trips (150) miles and my MPG was 52-53 a 3 MPG increase. I keep trying it and see how it works out. What kind of GPS do you have? Do you like it?